Mobile terminal

ABSTRACT

A mobile terminal includes a bar-type terminal body having a front side and a rear side; a mobile communication module transmitting and receiving a wireless signal; a touch screen disposed at the front side of the bar-type terminal body, the touch screen including a display module for displaying information and a front touch sensor for sensing a front touch input; a battery disposed in the bar-type terminal body; a cover disposed at the rear side of the bar-type terminal body and covering the battery, the cover having a first through hole and a second through hole; a front camera disposed at the front side of the bar-type terminal body; a rear camera disposed in the first through hole of the cover at the rear side of the bar-type terminal body; a rear input unit provided at the rear side of the bar-type terminal body, the rear input unit including a button member disposed at the second through hole of the cover and a rear touch sensor for sensing a rear touch input applied to the button member; one or more processors; and a memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of co-pending application Ser. No.15/958,892 filed on Apr. 20, 2018, which is a Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 15/814,020 filed on Nov. 15, 2017 (now U.S. Pat.No. 10,021,225 issued on Jul. 10, 2018), which is a Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 15/405,967 filed on Jan. 13, 2017 (now U.S. Pat.No. 9,854,073 issued on Dec. 26, 2017), which is a Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 13/739,885 filed on Jan. 11, 2013 (now U.S. Pat.No. 9,578,155 issued on Feb. 21, 2017), which claims the prioritybenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0071872 filed in the Republic of Korea on Jul. 2, 2012, all ofwhich are hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the presentapplication.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This specification relates to a mobile terminal having a user input unitcapable of receiving a control command.

2. Background of the Invention

Terminals may be divided into mobile/portable terminals and stationaryterminals according to their mobility. Also, the mobile terminals may becategorized into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminalaccording to whether it is directly portable by a user.

As it becomes multifunctional, the mobile terminal can be allowed tocapture still images or moving images, play music or video files, playgames, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as amultimedia player.

Various new attempts have been made for the multimedia devices byhardware or software in order to implement such complicated functions.For example, a user interface environment is provided in order for usersto easily and conveniently retrieve or select functions.

Furthermore, as a mobile terminal is considered as a personal belongingfor expressing one's own personality, various design forms are required.The design forms include structural changes and improvements for theuser to more conveniently use the mobile terminal. As one of thestructural changes and improvements, a manipulation unit may be takeninto account.

For instance, a manipulation unit is configured as a type of a touchscreen or separately provided as other types, to receive a user input.However, the touch screen type has a problem that a target to bemanipulated is obscured by a finger or a stylus pen. To obviate theproblem, a manipulation unit is separately disposed on a front or sidesurface of the terminal, but this may mess up a slim and simple designof the terminal. Therefore, an input method with a new structure forovercoming the problem may be considered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an aspect of the detailed description is to provide a mobileterminal enabling a new type of user input different from the relatedart.

Another aspect of the detailed description is to provide a mobileterminal capable of minimizing the number of manipulation units, exposedto outside of the terminal, with preventing the manipulation units fromobscuring a touch screen.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, thereis provided a mobile terminal including a terminal body having a frontsurface and a rear surface, a display module disposed on the frontsurface and configured to display visual information, and a rear inputunit disposed on the rear surface and configured to sense an input of acontrol command. The rear input unit may include a button memberexternally located on the rear surface, a first sensing unit disposed tooverlap the button member and configured to sense a push input appliedonto the button member, and a second sensing unit disposed to overlapthe button member and configured to sense a touch input applied onto thebutton member.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, there is provided amobile terminal including a terminal body having a front surface and arear surface, a rear input unit disposed on the rear surface andconfigured to sense an input of a control command, a controllerconfigured to process an input manipulation applied onto the rear inputunit as a control command for a different function according to anoperating mode of the terminal, and a display module disposed on thefront surface and configured to display visual information. The displaymodule may output information indicating a function associated with acontrol command received by the rear input unit.

Further scope of applicability of the present application will becomemore apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However,it should be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal in accordance with oneexemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 2A to 2C are conceptual views showing operations implementedaccording to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal in accordancewith one exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a rear perspective view of the mobile terminal shown in FIG.3A;

FIG. 4 is a disassembled view of the mobile terminal of FIG. 3B;

FIG. 5 is a detailed disassembled view of a rear input unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 3B;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a rear input unit in accordance withanother exemplary embodiment; and

FIGS. 8A to 14B are conceptual views showing operations implemented inthe terminal of FIG. 3B in accordance with another exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal associated with the present disclosurewill be described in more detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. Hereinafter, suffixes “module” and “unit or portion” forcomponents used herein in description are merely provided only forfacilitation of preparing this specification, and thus they are notgranted a specific meaning or function.

A mobile terminal disclosed herein may include a laptop computer, atablet PC, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a digital broadcast terminal,a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP),a navigator, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal in accordance with oneexemplary embodiment.

The mobile terminal 100 may include a wireless communication unit 110,an Audio/Video (A/V) input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensingunit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, an interface unit 170, acontroller 180, a power supply unit 190, and the like. However, all ofthe elements as illustrated in FIG. 1 are not necessarily required, andthe mobile terminal may be implemented with greater or less number ofelements than those illustrated elements.

Hereinafter, the constituent elements will be described in turn.

The wireless communication unit 110 typically includes one or moreelements allowing radio communication between the mobile terminal 100and a wireless communication system, or allowing radio communicationbetween the mobile terminal 100 and a network in which the mobileterminal 100 is located. For example, the wireless communication unit110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communicationmodule 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short-range communicationmodule 114, a location information module 115, and the like.

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives broadcast signals and/orbroadcast associated information from an external broadcast managementserver through a broadcast channel.

The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and/or aterrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may mean a serverthat generates and transmits a broadcast signal and/or broadcastassociated information or a server that receives a previously generatedbroadcast signal and/or broadcast associated information and transmitsto the mobile terminal 100. The broadcast signal may include a TVbroadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal and a data broadcast signalas well as a broadcast signal in a form that a data broadcast signal iscoupled to the TV or radio broadcast signal.

The broadcast associated information may mean information regarding abroadcast channel, a broadcast program, a broadcast service provider,and the like. The broadcast associated information may also be providedthrough a mobile communication network, and in this case, the broadcastassociated information may be received by the mobile communicationmodule 112.

The broadcast associated information may exist in various forms. Forexample, it may exist in the form of an electronic program guide (EPG)of digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), electronic service guide (ESG)of digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H), and the like.

The broadcast receiving module 111 may receive a broadcast signal usingvarious types of broadcast systems. In particular, the broadcastreceiving module 111 may receive a digital broadcast signal using adigital broadcast system such as digital multimediabroadcasting-terrestrial (DMB-T), digital multimediabroadcasting-satellite (DMB-S), media forward link only (MediaFLO),digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H), integrated services digitalbroadcast-terrestrial (ISDB-T), and the like. The broadcast receivingmodule 111 can be, of course, configured to be suitable for everybroadcast system that provides a broadcast signal as well as theabove-mentioned digital broadcast systems.

Broadcast signals and/or broadcast associated information received viathe broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in a suitable device,such as a memory 160.

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and/or receives a radiosignal to and/or from at least one of a base station, an externalterminal and a server over a mobile communication network. In thisexemplary embodiment, the radio signal may include a voice call signal,a video call signal and/or various types of data according to textand/or multimedia message transmission and/or reception.

The wireless Internet module 113 is a module for supporting wirelessInternet access. The wireless Internet module 113 may be built-in orexternally installed to the mobile terminal 100. In this exemplaryembodiment, the wireless Internet module 113 may use a wireless Internetaccess technique including a Wireless LAN (WLAN), Wi-Fi, WirelessBroadband (Wibro), World Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax),High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), and the like.

The short-range communication module 114 is a module for supporting ashort-range communication. In this exemplary embodiment, it may be useda short-range communication technology including Bluetooth, RadioFrequency IDentification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), UltraWideBand (UWB), ZigBee, and the like.

The location information module 115 is a module for checking oracquiring a location of the mobile terminal, such as a GPS module.

Referring to FIG. 1, the A/V input unit 120 receives an audio or videosignal, and the A/V input unit 120 may include a camera 121 and amicrophone 122. The camera 121 processes an image frame, such as stillpicture or video, obtained by an image sensor in a video phone call orimage capturing mode. The processed image frame may be displayed on adisplay unit 151.

The image frames processed by the camera 121 may be stored in the memory160 or transmitted to an external device through the wirelesscommunication unit 110. Two or more cameras 121 may be providedaccording to the use environment of the mobile terminal.

The microphone 122 receives an external audio signal through amicrophone in a phone call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognitionmode, and the like, and processes the audio signal into electrical voicedata. The processed voice data may be converted and outputted into aformat that is transmittable to a mobile communication base stationthrough the mobile communication module 112 in the phone call mode. Themicrophone 122 may implement various types of noise canceling algorithmsto cancel noise generated in a procedure of receiving the external audiosignal.

The user input unit 130 may generate input data to control an operationof the terminal. The user input unit 130 may be configured by includinga keypad, a dome switch, a touch pad (pressure/capacitance), a jogwheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 detects a current status of the mobile terminal 100such as an opened or closed state of the mobile terminal 100, a locationof the mobile terminal 100, existence or non-existence of a usercontact, an orientation of the mobile terminal 100 and the like, andgenerates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobileterminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is a slide phonetype, it may sense an opened or closed state of the slide phone.Furthermore, the sensing unit 140 takes charge of a sensing functionassociated with whether or not power is supplied from the power supplyunit 190, or whether or not an external device is coupled to theinterface unit 170. On the other hand, the sensing unit 140 may includea proximity sensor 141.

The output unit 150 is configured to provide an output for audio signal,video signal, or alarm signal, and the output unit 150 may include thedisplay unit 151, an audio output module 152, an alarm unit 153, ahaptic module 154, and the like.

The display unit 151 may display (output) information processed in themobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in aphone call mode, the display unit 151 may display a User Interface (UI)or a Graphic User Interface (GUI) associated with a call. When themobile terminal 100 is in a video call mode or image capturing mode, thedisplay unit 151 may display a captured image and/or received image, aUI or GUI.

The display unit 151 may include at least one of a Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD), a Thin Film Transistor-LCD (TFT-LCD), an Organic LightEmitting Diode (OLED) display, a flexible display, and athree-dimensional (3D) display.

Some of those displays may be configured with a transparent or opticaltransparent type to allow viewing of the exterior through the displayunit, and such displays may be called transparent displays. An exampleof a typical transparent display may include a transparent LED (TOLED),and the like. Under this configuration, a user can view an objectpositioned at a rear side of a terminal body through a region occupiedby the display unit 151 of the terminal body.

The display unit 151 may be implemented in two or more in numberaccording to a configured aspect of the portable terminal 100. Forinstance, a plurality of the display units 151 may be arranged on onesurface to be spaced apart from or integrated with each other, or may bearranged on different surfaces.

In embodiments where the display unit 151 and a touch sensitive sensor(referred to as a touch sensor) have an interlayer structure, thestructure may be referred to as a touch screen. The display unit 151 maybe used as an input device in addition to being used as an outputdevice. The touch sensor may be implemented as a touch film, a touchsheet, a touch pad, and the like.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert changes of a pressureapplied to a specific part of the display unit 151, or a capacitanceoccurring from a specific part of the display unit 151, into electricinput signals. Also, the touch sensor may be configured to sense notonly a touched position and a touched area, but also a touch pressure.

When touch inputs are sensed by the touch sensors, corresponding signalsare transmitted to a touch controller (not shown). The touch controllerprocesses the received signals, and then transmits corresponding data tothe controller 180. Accordingly, the controller 180 may sense whichregion of the display unit 151 has been touched.

Referring to FIG. 1, a proximity sensor 141 may be arranged at an innerregion of the portable terminal 100 covered by the touch screen, or nearthe touch screen. The proximity sensor may sense a presence or absenceof an object approaching a surface to be sensed, or an object disposednear a surface to be sensed, by using an electromagnetic field orinfrared rays without a mechanical contact. The proximity sensor has alonger lifespan and a more enhanced utility than a contact sensor.

The proximity sensor may include an optical transmission typephotoelectric sensor, a direct reflective type photoelectric sensor, amirror reflective type photoelectric sensor, a high-frequencyoscillation proximity sensor, a capacitance type proximity sensor, amagnetic type proximity sensor, an infrared rays proximity sensor, andso on. When the touch screen is implemented as a capacitance type,proximity of a pointer to the touch screen is sensed by changes of anelectromagnetic field. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) maybe categorized into a proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience of brief explanation, a statusthat the pointer is positioned to be proximate onto the touch screenwithout contact will be referred to as ‘proximity touch’, whereas astatus that the pointer substantially comes in contact with the touchscreen will be referred to as ‘contact touch’. For the positioncorresponding to the proximity touch of the pointer on the touch screen,such position corresponds to the perpendicular projection of thelocation of the onto the touch screen upon the proximity touch of thepointer.

The proximity sensor senses proximity touch, and proximity touchpatterns (e.g., distance, direction, speed, time, position, movingstatus, etc.). Information relating to the sensed proximity touch andthe sensed proximity touch patterns may be output onto the touch screen.

The audio output module 152 may output audio data received from thewireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in acall-receiving mode, a call-placing mode, a recording mode, a voicerecognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, and the like. The audiooutput module 152 may output audio signals relating to functionsperformed in the mobile terminal 100, e.g., sound alarming a callreceived or a message received, and so on. The audio output module 152may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, and so on.

The alarm unit 153 outputs signals notifying occurrence of events fromthe mobile terminal 100. The events occurring from the mobile terminal100 may include a call received, a message received, a key signal input,a touch input, and the like. The alarm unit 153 may output not onlyvideo or audio signals, but also other types of signals such as signalsnotifying occurrence of events in a vibration manner. Since the video oraudio signals can be output through the display unit 151 or the audiooutput unit 152, the display unit 151 and the audio output module 152may be categorized into a part of the alarm unit 153.

The haptic module 154 generates various tactile effects which a user canfeel. A representative example of the tactile effects generated by thehaptic module 154 includes vibration. Vibration generated by the hapticmodule 154 may have a controllable intensity, a controllable pattern,and so on. For instance, different vibration may be output in asynthesized manner or in a sequential manner.

The haptic module 154 may generate various tactile effects, includingnot only vibration, but also arrangement of pins vertically moving withrespect to a skin being touched (contacted), air injection force or airsuction force through an injection hole or a suction hole, touch by askin surface, presence or absence of contact with an electrode, effectsby stimulus such as an electrostatic force, reproduction of cold or hotfeeling using a heat absorbing device or a heat emitting device, and thelike.

The haptic module 154 may be configured to transmit tactile effects(signals) through a user's direct contact, or a user's muscular senseusing a finger or a hand. The haptic module 154 may be implemented intwo or more in number according to the configuration of the mobileterminal 100.

The memory 160 may store a program for the processing and control of thecontroller 180. Alternatively, the memory 160 may temporarily storeinput/output data (e.g., phonebook data, messages, still images, videoand the like). Also, the memory 160 may store data related to variouspatterns of vibrations and audio output upon the touch input on thetouch screen.

The memory 160 may be implemented using any type of suitable storagemedium including a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimediacard micro type, a memory card type (e.g., SD or DX memory), RandomAccess Memory (RAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Read-OnlyMemory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-only Memory(EEPROM), Programmable Read-only Memory (PROM), magnetic memory,magnetic disk, optical disk, and the like. Also, the mobile terminal 100may operate a web storage which performs the storage function of thememory 160 on the Internet.

The interface unit 170 may generally be implemented to interface themobile terminal 100 with external devices. The interface unit 170 mayallow a data reception from an external device, a power delivery to eachcomponent in the portable terminal 100, or a data transmission from theportable terminal 100 to an external device. The interface unit 170 mayinclude, for example, wired/wireless headset ports, external chargerports, wired/wireless data ports, memory card ports, ports for couplingdevices having an identification module, audio Input/Output (I/O) ports,video I/O ports, earphone ports, and the like.

The identification module may be configured as a chip for storingvarious information required to authenticate an authority to use themobile terminal 100, which may include a User Identity Module (UIM), aSubscriber Identity Module (SIM), and the like. Also, the device havingthe identification module (hereinafter, referred to as ‘identificationdevice’) may be implemented in a type of smart card. Hence, theidentification device can be coupled to the mobile terminal 100 via aport.

Also, the interface unit 170 may serve as a path for power to besupplied from an external cradle to the mobile terminal 100 when themobile terminal 100 is connected to the external cradle or as a path fortransferring various command signals inputted from the cradle by a userto the mobile terminal 100. Such various command signals or powerinputted from the cradle may operate as signals for recognizing that themobile terminal 100 has accurately been mounted to the cradle.

The controller 180 typically controls the overall operations of themobile terminal 100. For example, the controller 180 performs thecontrol and processing associated with telephony calls, datacommunications, video calls, and the like. The controller 180 mayinclude a multimedia module 181 which provides multimedia playback. Themultimedia module 181 may be configured as part of the controller 180 oras a separate component.

The controller 180 can perform a pattern recognition processing so as torecognize writing or drawing input on the touch screen as text or image.The power supply unit 190 provides power required by various componentsunder the control of the controller 180.

The provided power may be internal power, external power, or combinationthereof.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in acomputer-readable medium using, for example, software, hardware, or somecombination thereof.

For a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein may beimplemented within one or more of Application Specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital SignalProcessing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, micro processors, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described herein, or a selective combinationthereof. In some cases, such embodiments are implemented by thecontroller 180.

For software implementation, the embodiments such as procedures andfunctions may be implemented together with separate software moduleseach of which performs at least one of functions and operations. Thesoftware codes can be implemented with a software application written inany suitable programming language. Also, the software codes may bestored in the memory 160 and executed by the controller 180.

FIGS. 2A to 2C are conceptual views showing operations implementedaccording to the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the terminal may include a display module 251disposed on one surface of the terminal body, for example, a frontsurface thereof. The display module 251 may have a touch sensor forsensing a touch input. Visual information output on the display module251 may be implemented in forms of images, text, icons and the like. Asshown in the drawings, a webpage containing them may be output on thedisplay module 251.

Referring to FIG. 2B, another surface of the terminal body, for example,a rear surface is shown having a rear input unit 232. The rear inputunit 232 may receive a control command for the webpage. In more detail,when dragging or flicking is applied onto the rear input unit 232, thewebpage may be scrolled.

As another example, a user may scroll the rear input unit 232 to move acursor or pointer located on an object, for example, an icon or thelike, displayed on the display module 251. In addition, when the usermoves a finger across the rear input unit 232, the movement of thefinger is visually tracked on the display module 251. This function maybe useful for edition of an image displayed on the display module 251.

Referring to FIG. 2C, when a user clicks the rear input unit 232 in awebpage mode, namely, applies a push input, a webpage on the displaymodule 251 may be shifted into a home screen page.

Here, the home screen page may also be called an idle screen. In an idlestate of the terminal, the home screen page may be output on the displaymodule 251. In more detail, the home screen page may display icons orwidgets of applications installed in the mobile terminal. Also, aplurality of home screen pages may be provided depending on a userselection or the number of applications installed in the terminal.

As such, a control command to come back into the home screen page may begiven by a separate home key. However, in the present disclosure, therear input unit may serve as the home key without the separate home key.

Consequently, the rear input unit of the mobile terminal may be allowedto receive both touch and push inputs, and in some cases, serve as thehome key of the mobile terminal as well as a touch sensor for thedisplay module 251.

Hereinafter, hardware configuration of the terminal performing theoperations shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C will be described in more detail.FIG. 3A is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal in accordancewith one exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a rear perspective view ofthe mobile terminal shown in FIG. 3A.

A mobile terminal 200 disclosed herein is provided with a bar-typeterminal body. However, the present application is not limited to thistype of terminal, but is also applicable to various structures ofterminals such as slide type, folder type, swivel type, swing type, andthe like, in which two or more bodies are combined with each other in arelatively movable manner.

A body may include a case (or referred to as casing, housing, cover,etc.) defining an appearance of the mobile terminal 200. In thisexemplary embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 201 anda rear case 202. A space formed between the front and rear cases 201 and202 may accommodate various electronic components. At least oneintermediate case may further be disposed between the front and the rearcases 201 and 202.

Such cases may be injected using a synthetic resin or be formed of ametal, such as stainless steel (STS), titanium (Ti) or the like.

The terminal body is shown having a display module 251, an audio outputmodule 252, a camera 221 and the like provided on the front case 201.Also, an interface unit 270, and the like may be disposed on sidesurfaces of the front case 201 and the rear case 202.

The display module 251 may occupy most of a principal surface of thefront case 201. That is, the display module 251 may be disposed on afront surface of the terminal and display visual information. The audiooutput module 252 and the camera 221 may be disposed near one of bothend portions of the display module 251, and a front input unit 231 andthe microphone 222 may be disposed near the other end portion of thedisplay module 251.

The front input unit 231 is one example of the user input unit 130 (seeFIG. 1) and may include a plurality of manipulation units. Themanipulation units may be commonly designated as a manipulating portion,and employ any method if it is implemented in a tactile manner allowingthe user to perform manipulation with a tactile feeling. In thisexemplary embodiment, the front input unit 231 may be implemented as atouch key. Also, the display module 251 may form a touch screen togetherwith a touch sensor. In this structure, the touch screen may serve as auser input unit. Accordingly, the front surface of the mobile terminalmay be implemented in a form factor that a push key is not disposedbelow the touch screen. Here, without being limited to this structure,the present disclosure may be implemented in a form factor that thefront input unit 231 includes only the push key or a form factor thatthe front input unit is not provided on the front of the terminal.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a rear surface of the terminal body (namely, therear case 202) is shown further having a camera module 221′. The cameramodule 221′ faces a direction which is opposite to a direction faced bythe camera 221 (see FIG. 3A), and may have different pixels from thoseof the camera 221.

For example, the camera 221 may operate with relatively lower pixels(lower resolution). Thus, the camera 221 may be useful when a user cancapture his face and send it to another party during a video call or thelike. On the other hand, the camera 221′ may operate with a relativelyhigher pixels (higher resolution) such that it can be useful for a userto obtain higher quality pictures for later use. The cameras 221 and221′ may be installed in the terminal body to be rotatable or popped up.

A flash and a mirror may additionally be disposed adjacent to the camera221′. The flash operates in conjunction with the camera 221′ when takinga picture using the camera 221′. The mirror can cooperate with thecamera 221′ to allow a user to photograph himself in a self-portraitmode.

An audio output module may further be disposed at a rear face of theterminal body. The rear audio output module can cooperate with the audiooutput module 252 (see FIG. 32A) to provide stereo output. Also, theaudio output module 252′ may be configured to operate as a speakerphone.

A power supply unit 290 for supplying power to the mobile terminal 200may be mounted in the terminal body. The power supply unit 290 may bemounted in the terminal body or detachably coupled directly onto theoutside of the terminal body.

As shown in the drawings, the rear input unit 232 may be disposed on therear face of the terminal body. The rear input unit 232, for example,may be located below the camera module 221′.

The rear input unit 232 may be manipulated by a user to input a commandfor controlling an operation of the mobile terminal 200, and set toallow inputting of various contents. For example, the rear input unit232 may allow a user to input commands, such as START, END, SCROLL orthe like, volume adjustment of sounds output from the audio outputmodule 252, or conversion of the display module 251 into a touchrecognition mode, or the like.

The rear input unit 232 may be implemented as a new type of manipulationunit. Hereinafter, the configuration of the rear input unit 232 will bedescribed in more detail. FIG. 4 is a disassembled view of the mobileterminal of FIG. 3B, FIG. 5 is a detailed disassembled view of a rearinput unit of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along theline VI-VI of FIG. 3B.

First of all, surroundings of the rear input unit 232 will be describedwith reference to those drawings. A printed circuit board 281 may bemounted in the terminal body. The printed circuit board 281, forexample, may be mounted to the front case 201 or the rear case 202, ormounted to a separate structure 203. The separate structure may form anintermediate case. Hereinafter, description will be given on the basisof the front or rear case 201 or 202 being separately formed, but thepresent invention may not be limited to this. Alternatively, the cases201, 202 and 203 may all be integrally formed.

The printed circuit board 281 may be configured as one example of thecontroller 180 (see FIG. 1) for control of various functions of themobile terminal. The printed circuit board 281 may alternatively beprovided in plurality, so as to perform the functions of the controller180 by combination thereof. To perform such functions, various types ofelectronic devices may be mounted to the printed circuit board 281.

The printed circuit board 281 may be electrically connected to anantenna (not shown), and process a wireless signal corresponding to aradio electromagnetic wave transmitted or received via the antenna. Theantenna may be disposed between the structure 203 and the printedcircuit board 281 to usually allow for transmission and reception of thewireless signal via the rear case 202.

As shown in the drawings, the printed circuit board 281 may beelectrically connected to the camera module 221′. Also, the rear case202 (or a battery cover 204) may have a through hole, and the cameramodule 221′ may be disposed to be externally exposed through the throughhole. The camera module 221′ may be disposed at an opposite side to theantenna with a battery interposed therebetween, capturing an externalimage through the rear surface of the terminal.

Hereinafter, the rear input unit 232 will be described again. The rearinput unit 232 may be disposed between the camera module 221′ and thebattery. The position of the rear input unit 232 may overlap a positionof the front display module 251 (see FIG. 3A). This may acquire anadvantage in that an input device is disposed on the rear surface of thedisplay module 251. Thus, for example the user is able to easily operatethe terminal with one hand whilst holding the terminal with the samehand. In addition, the screen is not obscured by operation of the inputdevice. Further, input keys on the side of the terminal may not benecessary.

Referring to FIG. 5, the rear input unit 232 may include a button member233, a first sensing unit 234, and a second sensing unit 235.

The button member 233 may be externally exposed through the rear surfaceof the terminal, and be directly subject to a user's manipulation. Thebutton member 233 may include an externally exposed concave surface anda planar surface formed opposite to the concave surface. Accordingly, anew type of input device which allows for dragging applied along theconcave surface may be implemented.

In an alternative embodiment, the button member 233 may include anexternally exposed convex surface and a planar surface formed oppositeto the convex surface. In such an embodiment a new type of input devicewhich allows for dragging applied along the convex surface may beimplemented.

The first sensing unit 234 may be disposed to overlap the button member233, and be configured to sense a push input applied onto the buttonmember 233. As one example, the first sensing unit 234 may beimplemented as, but not limited to, a dome switch. Here, the firstsensing unit 234 may alternatively be implemented as another type ofinput device, such as a piezoelectric element.

The curved surface of the button member 233 exposed to the outside maybe formed such that a border area protrudes rather than a central area.The first sensing unit 234 may be disposed to face the central area.This may result in implementation of a structure that furtherfacilitates the push input.

The second sensing unit 235 may be disposed to overlap the button member233, to sense a touch input applied onto the button member 233. As oneexample, the seconding unit 235 may be a touchpad, a touch film, a touchsensor, and the like.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the first sensing unit 234 may be interposedbetween the second sensing unit 235 and the button member 233. Anintermediate member 236, which is made of rubber, may be disposedbetween the button member 233 and the second sensing unit 235. That is,the first sensing unit 234 may be located between the intermediatemember 236 and the second sensing unit 235.

Also, a touch input applied onto the button member 233 may betransferred to the second sensing unit 235 via the intermediate member236. One area of the second sensing unit 235 may be obscured by thefirst sensing unit 234. A touch input applied onto the one area may betransferred to the second sensing unit 235 via the first sensing unit234, and a touch input applied onto other areas except for the one areamay be transferred to the second sensing unit 235 only via theintermediate member 236.

For example, the second sensing unit 235 may be a static pressure typetouch sensor, and the first sensing unit 234 may be a dome switch whichcovers a part of the static pressure type touch sensor. Here, the domeswitch may cover a part of the static pressure type touch sensor, andaccordingly other part of the static pressure type touch sensor maydirectly face the intermediate member 236. When a user applies a touchinput onto a portion of the button member corresponding to the domeswitch, the touch input may be applied in the order of buttonmember-intermediate member-dome switch-touch sensor. When the userapplies a touch input onto the non-overlapped portion of the buttonmember with the dome switch, the touch input is applied in the order ofbutton member-intermediate member-touch sensor.

In more detail, a plurality of manipulation protrusions 236 a and 236 bmay be formed on one surface of the intermediate member 236. At leastone (e.g., 236 a) of the manipulation protrusions 236 a and 236 b may bedisposed to press the first sensing unit 234, and the others (e.g., 236b) of the manipulation protrusions 236 a and 236 b may be disposed topress the second sensing unit 235.

For an effective touch input, the at least one 236 a and the others 236b of the manipulation protrusions 236 a and 236 b may protrude from theone surface of the intermediate member 236 by different heights fromeach other. For example, for compensating for a height difference due tothe first and second sensing units 234 and 235 being overlapped by eachother, the manipulation protrusion 236 a for pressing the first sensingunit 234 may be shorter than the manipulation protrusions 236 b forpressing the second sensing unit 235.

As shown in the drawings, the rear case 202 of the terminal is shownhaving a support member 237 for supporting the rear input unit 232,especially, the first and second sensing units 234 and 235.

A receiving groove 237 a for receiving the second sensing unit 235therein may be formed at a central area of the support member 237. Aborder area of the support member 237 may be coupled to the rear case202. The receiving groove 237 may have a through hole through which theprinted circuit board and the sensing units may be connected to eachother.

In addition, a guide member 238 for guiding movement of the buttonmember 233 may be mounted onto a border area of the support member 237.The guide member 238 may include a guide portion 238 a in which thebutton member 233 is inserted, and an extending portion 238 b extendingfrom the guide portion 238 a in a direction orthogonal to a movingdirection of the button member 233 so as to be coupled to the supportmember 237. As shown in the drawings, the extending portion 238 b,together with the support member 237, may be obscured by a battery cover204, and the button member 233 and the guide portion 238 a may beexposed to the outside via a through hole of the battery cover. Withoutbeing limited to the structure, a configuration that only the buttonmember 233 is exposed through the through hole may alternatively beemployed.

With the aforementioned structure, an input received at the rear inputunit may be determined to be a touch type or a push type according tothe overlapped structure of the sensing units or a position where abutton is contacted.

Also, the rear input unit which allows for the touch and push inputs maybe varied into several shapes. Hereinafter, an exemplary variation ofthe rear input unit will be described with reference to FIG. 7. In thevariation to be explained hereinafter, the same or similar referencenumerals to the previous embodiment will be given, and they will beunderstood by the first explanation.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a rear input unit in accordance withanother exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, a second sensing unit 335 may be disposed between abutton member 333 and a first sensing unit 334. For example, they may besequentially disposed in the order of button member-touch sensor-domeswitch.

A flexible printed circuit board 339 may be disposed between the firstand second sensing units 334 and 335. Here, the touch sensor may have astructure that a touch pattern is formed on the flexible printed circuitboard 339. Unlike the previous embodiment, the second sensing unit 335may be a static pressure type touch sensor.

According to the mechanism of this variation, a push input for the firstsensing unit 334 may always be performed after a touch input for thesecond sensing unit 335 is performed. Hence, the touch input may besensed until a force applied onto the button member 333 reaches a presetvalue, and then the push input may be sensed after the force exceeds thepreset value. Here, the preset value may be a force strong enough toswitch the dome switch on.

As shown in FIG. 7, a recess 305 may be formed at a rear case 302, andthe first and second sensing units 334 and 335 may be received in therecess 305 in an overlapped state. Here, the button member 333 may beformed to be movable along a side wall of the recess 305. With thisstructure, it may be advantageous that any component for moving thebutton member 333 is not required.

The rear input unit having the configuration may provide new types ofuser interfaces as well as the operations shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C.Hereinafter, the user interfaces will be described.

FIGS. 8A to 14B are conceptual views showing user interfaces implementedby the terminal of FIG. 3B.

FIGS. 8A to 8C show user interfaces associated with the control ofactivation of the second sensing unit in response to an input applied tothe first sensing unit.

For example, whether or not to activate the second sensing unit may bedecided depending on a push input for the first sensing unit. In moredetail, the push input may be defined as an input for an ON/OFF commandwith respect to a terminal body. That is, when a push input is appliedonto the button member in a power-off state of the terminal, theterminal may be powered on (see FIG. 8A). The second sensing unit may beactivated only after the terminal is turned on.

As another example, the push input may be defined as an input for anON/OFF command with respect to a display module. In a deactivated stateof the display module, the second sensing unit may not sense a touchinput. The display module may be activated when the push input isapplied onto the first sensing unit (see FIG. 8B). The second sensingunit may be activated only after the display module is activated. Thoseoperations may result in prevention of erroneous manipulation for theterminal. This can prevent functions and applications of a mobileterminal, which generally allows for touch inputs, from being activatedor deactivated due to a control command which is not intended by a user.

As another example, the push input may be an input associated withunlocking of a locked state. States of a mobile terminal may be dividedinto ‘locked state’ and ‘unlocked state’ according to whether or not auser is allowed to input a control command, and the locked state and theunlocked state may be converted in response to the push input. Here, thelocked state may be a state of restricting a user from inputting acontrol command for applications installed in the terminal.

Consequently, the locked state may be released in response to a pushinput applied onto the first sensing unit (see FIG. 8C). Once the lockedstate is released, the touch input on the display module and the touchinput on the rear input unit may all be enabled.

FIG. 9 shows a gesture of performing a function of a call button usingthe button member.

The second sensing unit may sense dragging applied onto the buttonmember and accordingly the button member may take the place of a callbutton. That is, while vibration, a connection sound or a pop-up windowis output to indicate that a call is incoming, when the button member isdragged, the terminal may connect the incoming call.

Here, the front face of the terminal may not have any manipulation unitfor inputting a control command except for the display module. That is,the front input unit 231 (see FIG. 3) may not be disposed on the frontface of the terminal, and this can enable the implementation of a largescreen.

In addition, the display module may output information related to aconnected callee, for example, name, phone number, photo and the like,but may not output a virtual button for connecting the call. Thisenables the display of more information associated with the callee.

FIGS. 10A to 10C show user interfaces that information related to a rearinput unit is output on a display module.

As shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C, a controller for controlling functions ofthe terminal may process input manipulations applied onto the rear inputunit as control commands for different functions according to operatingmodes of the terminal. For example, an input onto the rear input unitmay be associated with a volume adjustment or a conversion of areproduction file in a reproducing mode of music or video, or a scrollmanipulation in an Internet mode.

Here, the display module may output information indicating whichfunction is being sensed by the rear input unit. In more detail, animage corresponding to an external appearance of the button member(i.e., button image) may be output on the display module, and an iconassociated with the information may be displayed within the image.

The displayed icon may be formed as a pair. For example, upon receptionof an input related to an UP/DOWN operation (for example, volume,zooming, etc.), the pair of icons may be ‘+’ and ‘−’ (see FIG. 10A), andthey may be located on both ends of the button image in a lengthwisedirection of the button image (or the terminal).

For example, in case of a volume adjustment, when the button member isdragged, the volume may be turned up or down. Also, the volume may beturned up when one of both ends of the button member is touched, andturned down when the other end is touched.

As another example, when a webpage is output in an Internet mode, thebutton member may be scrolled and the displayed icons may be imagesassociated with the scroll. In more detail, the icons may be ‘Δ’ and ‘∇’when the input is associated with the scroll (see FIG. 10B).

Referring to FIG. 10C, the icons may change in shape in cooperation withthe touch input applied onto the button member. A music-playing modewill be exemplarily illustrated but such case may also be applicable todifferent modes. As shown in FIG. 10C, in a state that the icons are ‘+’and ‘−’ associated with the volume adjustment, the rear input unit maysense the adjustment of volume. Under this state, when a push input isapplied onto the button member, the icons may be converted into‘rewind’, ‘play’ and ‘fast forward’, and the rear input unit may beconverted to sense an input instructing ‘rewind’ and ‘fast forward’.

Referring to FIGS. 11A to 11C, the display module may output informationindicating an input level of a control command.

For example, the second sensing unit may sense dragging applied onto thebutton member, and information related to a current (advancing, ongoing)level of the dragging may be output on the display module. In moredetail, the controller of the terminal may execute one function inresponse to the dragging, and the display module may output informationindicating a process that the one function is being executed accordingto the current level of the dragging.

Referring to FIG. 11A, in case of a volume adjustment, an indicator thata magnitude of volume is varied as the dragging is ongoing may beoutput.

As another example, referring to FIG. 11B, an icon which moves inresponse to dragging may be output within the button image. Unlockingmay be going on as the button member is dragged in a locking mode, andthe moving level of the icon may be cooperative with the ongoing levelof the unlocking. This may allow a user to recognize the process thatthe unlocking is being executed. Moving the icon may also be applied indifferent forms.

For example, referring to FIG. 11C, when a call is incoming, a commandfor connecting the call may be input in response to dragging of thebutton member. The user may recognize the process that the incoming ofthe call is being advanced into the connecting of the call, based on themoving of the icon.

Referring to FIG. 12, the display module may output information relatedto a duration (holding time) of a push input.

The controller may generate a control command based on a holding time ofa push input applied onto the button member, and the display module mayoutput information which is variable according to the holding time.

For example, in case where the terminal is powered off in response to apush input, an icon may be moving as the push input is applied. When thepush input applied is continued until a preset time, the icon may bemoved down to an end of the button image, and accordingly the power-offcommand may be executed.

As such, an icon within the user interfaces may be varied into variousrepresentations. For example, a user interface applied in a camera modemay be implemented. That is, in a state that a preview screen is outputon the display module in the camera mode, capturing may not be executedas soon as the button member being pushed, but an icon is continuouslymoved for a holding time of the push input and then capturing isexecuted when the icon arrives at an end of a button image.

FIGS. 13 to 14B show user interfaces related to a case where touchinputs are simultaneously applied onto the display module and the rearinput unit. In this case, the controller may generate a control commandin response to the touch inputs simultaneously applied onto the displaymodule and the rear input unit.

For example, referring to FIG. 13, when the display module and the rearinput unit are dragged in opposite directions, an image output on thedisplay module may rotate along the dragging direction. With the imagerotating, a two-dimensional (2D) image may be converted into athree-dimensional (3D) image.

As another example, referring to FIGS. 14A and 14B, when inputs areapplied onto both the display module and the rear input unit, one of theinputs may play a role of restricting the other input. More concretely,referring to FIG. 14A, in a non-pushed or non-touched state of the rearinput unit, a drag input onto the display module may be enabled.However, referring to FIG. 14B, in a pushed or touched state of the rearinput unit, a touch input onto the display module may be restricted. Forexample, even if dragging or flicking is executed with respect to thedisplay module in the state that the rear input unit has been touched,such dragging or flicking may not be processed. This cooperativerelation may result in preventing the display module from beingerroneously manipulated.

The present disclosure may implement various manipulations with minimalelements in a mobile terminal, by virtue of a rear input unit, which isimplemented to receive a control command in a touching manner and apushing manner. This may result in implementation of new types of userinterfaces.

In accordance with the present disclosure, as the rear input unit isdisposed on a rear surface of the terminal, the front display module maybe formed with a larger screen. Also, the structure that a push typesensing unit is disposed at front of a touch type sensing unit may allowfor realizing a rear input unit, which is decided as a touch type and apush type according to the overlapped structure of the sensing units ora position where a button is pressed.

The foregoing embodiments and advantages of a mobile terminal are merelyexemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the presentdisclosure. The present teachings can be readily applied to other typesof apparatuses. This description is intended to be illustrative, and notto limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The features,structures, methods, and other characteristics of the exemplaryembodiments described herein may be combined in various ways to obtainadditional and/or alternative exemplary embodiments.

As the present features may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understoodthat the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of thedetails of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, butrather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in theappended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fallwithin the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metesand bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile terminal comprising: a bar-type terminalbody having a front side and a rear side; a mobile communication moduletransmitting and receiving a wireless signal; a touch screen disposed atthe front side of the bar-type terminal body, the touch screen includinga display module for displaying information and a front touch sensor forsensing a front touch input; a battery; a cover disposed at the rearside of the bar-type terminal body to cover the battery; a front cameradisposed at the front side of the bar-type terminal body; a rear cameradisposed at the rear side of the bar-type terminal body; a rear inputkey provided between the rear camera and battery at the rear side of thebar-type terminal body and configured to sense a rear touch input; andone or more processors configured to process the rear touch input ascontrol commands for different functions according to operating statesof the mobile terminal, wherein a first function to release a lockedstate of the mobile terminal is performed based on a first input appliedto the rear input key in a first state that the mobile terminal is in alocked state, wherein a second function to capture an image through thefront and the rear camera is performed based on a second input appliedto the rear input key in a second state that a camera preview isdisplayed on the touch screen, and wherein the front side of thebar-type terminal body does not have any manipulation unit for inputtinga control command except for the touch screen.
 2. The mobile terminal ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more processors perform a third function toconnect an incoming call based on a third input applied to the rearinput key in a third state that a screen indicating the incoming call isdisplayed on the touch screen.
 3. The mobile terminal of claim 1,wherein the one or more processors process a touch drag input applied tothe rear input key as a scroll function.
 4. The mobile terminal of claim1, wherein the rear camera is disposed at the upper portion of thebar-type terminal body.
 5. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein therear camera and the rear input key are exposed to outside of thebar-type terminal body through the cover.
 6. A mobile terminalcomprising: a bar-type terminal body having a front side and a rearside; a mobile communication module transmitting and receiving awireless signal; a touch screen disposed at the front side of thebar-type terminal body, the touch screen including a display module fordisplaying information and a front touch sensor for sensing a fronttouch input; a battery; a cover disposed at the rear side of thebar-type terminal body to cover the battery; a front camera disposed atthe front side of the bar-type terminal body; a rear camera disposed atthe rear side of the bar-type terminal body; a rear input key providedbetween the rear camera and battery at the rear side of the bar-typeterminal body and configured to sense a rear touch input; and one ormore processors configured to process the rear touch input as controlcommands for different functions according to operating states of themobile terminal, wherein a first function to release a locked state ofthe mobile terminal is performed based on a first input applied to therear input key in a first state that the mobile terminal is in a lockedstate, wherein a second function to capture an image through the frontand the rear camera is performed based on a second input applied to therear input key in a second state that a camera preview is displayed onthe touch screen, wherein a third function to connect an incoming callis performed based on a third input applied to the rear input key in athird state that a screen indicating the incoming call is displayed onthe touch screen, and wherein the front side of the bar-type terminalbody does not have any manipulation unit for inputting a control commandexcept for the touch screen.
 7. The mobile terminal of claim 6, whereinthe one or more processors process a touch drag input applied to therear input key as a scroll function.
 8. The mobile terminal of claim 6,wherein the rear camera is disposed at the upper portion of the bar-typeterminal body.
 9. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein the rearcamera and the rear input key are exposed to outside of the bar-typeterminal body through the cover.